We welcome new contributor Martin Butera, reporting from Brasilia DF, Brazil. In his first article, he examines the growing crackdown on free radio in that country. Readers should note the parallels between unlicensed radio there and in the US, where stations in dense urban areas are often employed by communities and populations not well served […]
Tag Archives | free radio
Syrian free radio station raided & shut down by al Qaeda group
Unfortunately, the risk associated with unlicensed, independent and clandestine broadcasting in Syria is very present and real. Furthermore, the repressive Assad government is not the only threat. According to David Kenner at Foreign Policy a reporter working for the citizen journalism organization ANA New Media Association, Rami al Razzouk, was kidnapped by members of the […]
Reports say at least a dozen independent radio stations broadcasting in Syria
While Syria’s bloody civil war increasingly looks like a stalemate, and the US has held off on retaliatory bombing in favor of chemical weapons inspections, brave broadcasters are taking risks to bring free flowing information and news to the people of Syria through their radio dials. Where the local press is tightly controlled by the […]
Independent journalists broadcast clandestine radio stations inside Syria
Last week I asked what outside and independent news and information sources are available inside Syria. In particular, I wondered what radio outlets are available. Tom Fudge, news director of KPBS, provides an answer to my question in a story aired last Thursday. He talked with a handful of independent Syrian journalists who visited San […]
Radio Free Sarawak broadcasts independent voices to Malaysian Borneo
Al Jazeera reports on the unlicensed Radio Free Sarawak which is making itself a thorn in the side of the Malaysian government, broadcasting independent voices in the run-up to general elections in that country. Sarawak is a former British colony located on the island of Borneo. The station is operated by expatriates out of studios […]
From underground to the Daily Camera: Boulder, CO pirate broadcaster surfaces in the local paper
The Daily Camera reports on an unlicensed broadcaster in Boulder, Colorado that was previously little heard of outside of Boulder. Boulder was home to Boulder Free Radio, which was famous in free radio circles for playing a long-running cat-and-mouse game with the Denver FCC office, until being busted for the last time in 2005. It […]
Free radio pioneer Stephen Dunifer warns of “LPFM deception”
Stephen Dunifer has been called the “Johnny Appleseed” of free radio for his work with Free Radio Berkeley which has been making and distributing FM transmitter kits for more than 17 years. FRB inspired many unlicensed broadcasters to take to the airwaves in the mid to late 90s, in part due to the publicity the […]
Libyan rebels broadcast free radio to the cities of Misurata and Benghazi
It has been a while since I’ve written about radio in Libya. The popular revolt in that country started back in February, and there were reports that opposition protestors were taking over radio stations in regions where the central government was losing control. Some four months later the uprisings and struggle against Muammar Qaddafi are […]
Free Radio Benghazi broadcasts Libyan protesters to the world
Much of the news today from Libya is sad, with reports that as many as 200 protesters have been killed by government forces who are using live ammunition–some large caliber–on civilians trying to exercise their human rights to free speech and peaceful protest. However there are also signs that protestors are finding ways to break […]